Comparison of depth-specific groundwater sampling methods and their influence on hydrochemistry, isotopy and dissolved gases – Experiences from the Fuhrberger Feld, Germany

Houben, Georg; Koeniger, Paul; Schloemer, Stefan; Gröger-Trampe, Jens; Sültenfuß, Jürgen

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.12.008

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Detection and quantification was performed with a Thermo Scientific ISQ Single quadrupole mass spectrometer. Tap water, equilibrated with ambient air at known temperature and pressure, was used for calibration (more details see Houben et al., 2018).…”

Section: Study Site and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Propagation of Reaction Fronts in a Sandy Aquifer Over 20+ Years: Lessons From a Test Site in Northwestern Germany

Houben

Post

Gröger-Trampe

et al. 2021

Water Resources Research

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Despite reduction measures, nitrate and aluminum concentrations remain high in aquifers in northwestern Europe. To evaluate the effectiveness of groundwater protection policies, the long‐term fate of these contaminants in groundwater needs to be understood. The groundwater catchment of the Haren water works, NW Germany, was characterized hydrogeochemically in the late 1990s, which provides an opportunity to study the solute fronts over a two‐decade period and conduct a post‐audit of the predicted front movement. Results indicate that, despite a significant reduction of the atmospheric acid loads, the acidification of soil and groundwater at the forest site persists. Removal of sorbed aluminum is required to induce a noticeable improvement, which will take at least several decades. The unexpected appearance of nitrate at the site, caused by a land use change in 1998, highlights the need for long‐term monitoring. Core data at the agricultural site show that the denitrification front has moved very little between 1998 and 2017, in accordance with previous forecasts. Denitrification by‐products, mainly sulfate and nitrogen, have migrated from the upper into the lower aquifer. A reactive transport model demonstrated how the link between the regional groundwater flow, pyrite oxidation, and the temporal variability of the nitrate concentration in recharge water, as reconstructed from age tracers, result in the observed vertical distribution of sulfate and nitrogen. This study demonstrates how long‐term monitoring, aided by model‐based data interpretation, can be used to successfully study and predict the fate of contaminants in groundwater.

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Section: Study Site and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Propagation of Reaction Fronts in a Sandy Aquifer Over 20+ Years: Lessons From a Test Site in Northwestern Germany

Houben

Post

Gröger-Trampe

et al. 2021

Water Resources Research

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“…To control for the bias induced by ambient flow, depth-dependent sampling [ 35 , 47 , 48 , 49 ] or vertical monitoring well nests [ 28 , 34 , 50 , 51 ] have been employed in many studies. However, these methods are technically challenging and expensive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Quality Assessment Bias Associated with Long-Screened Wells Screened across Aquifers with High Nitrate and Arsenic Concentrations

Huang

Knappett

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Semi-arid regions with little surface water commonly experience rapid water table decline rates. To hedge against the falling water table, production wells in central Mexico are commonly installed to depths of several hundred meters below the present water table and constructed as open boreholes or perforated casings across their entire length. Such wells represent highly conductive pathways leading to non-negligible flow across chemically distinct layers of an aquifer—a phenomenon known as ambient flow. The objectives of this study were to estimate the rate of ambient flow in seven production wells utilizing an end-member mixing model that is constrained by the observed transient chemical composition of produced water. The end-member chemical composition of the upper and lower layers of an urban aquifer that overlies geothermal heat is estimated to anticipate the future quality of this sole source of water for a rapidly growing urban area. The comprehensive water chemistry produced by seven continuously perforated municipal production wells, spanning three geologically unique zones across the city of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato State, was monitored during one day of pumping. The concentration of conservative constituents gradually converged on steady-state values. The model indicates that, relative to the lower aquifer, the upper aquifer generally has higher specific conductance (SC), chloride (Cl), nitrate (NO3), calcium (Ca), barium (Ba) and magnesium (Mg). The lower aquifer generally has a higher temperature, sodium (Na), boron (B), arsenic (As) and radon (Rn). Ambient flow ranged from 33.1 L/min to 225.7 L/min across the seven wells, but this rate for a given well varied depending on which tracer was used. This new 3D understanding of the chemical stratification of the aquifer suggests that as water tables continue to fall, concentrations of geothermally associated contaminants of concern will increase in the near future, potentially jeopardizing the safety of municipal drinking water.

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Environmental Tracers to Study the Origin and Timescales of Spring Waters

Suckow

Gerber

2022

Threats to Springs in a Changing World

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Comparison of depth-specific groundwater sampling methods and their influence on hydrochemistry, isotopy and dissolved gases – Experiences from the Fuhrberger Feld, Germany

Cited by 8 publications

References 60 publications

On the Propagation of Reaction Fronts in a Sandy Aquifer Over 20+ Years: Lessons From a Test Site in Northwestern Germany

On the Propagation of Reaction Fronts in a Sandy Aquifer Over 20+ Years: Lessons From a Test Site in Northwestern Germany

Water Quality Assessment Bias Associated with Long-Screened Wells Screened across Aquifers with High Nitrate and Arsenic Concentrations

Environmental Tracers to Study the Origin and Timescales of Spring Waters

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